Feast of the Tree
By Toine van Teeffelen, Electronic Intifada 1/31/2005
Writing from Bethlehem, occupied Palestine -- When telling Jara and Tamer stories from Dutch children''s books before they go to bed, I do not always use exactly the same words as those printed in the book. For instance, the books sometimes express a rather individualized culture that is quite removed from what Jara and Tamer experience in Bethlehem. One book (from the famous Gouden Boekje - Golden Booklet - series, which I used to devour myself when I was young), titled Meneer de Hond [Mister Dog], features a speaking dog and a boy who fraternize and come to live with each other in a little house. But each wants the food for himself as "they had learnt to take care of themselves," and the boy does not want to share his cotelette with the dog. But living together and not sharing food is something quite unthinkable in this culture.
So in order not to disturb Tamer''s mental map of the world, I told him that the boy and the dog were sharing everything. Tamer himself is in fact fond of sharing whatever he can share or rather upon what he can lay his hands -- including vitamins, coffee and shampoo. It is a real game for him. Recently, he learned to imitate that startled look of incomprehension on the face of the Arab host when the guest does not want to take something that is being offered: Kull! [eat] Ishrab! [drink].
But it also happens that the Dutch books emit a political message that I do not wish to repeat to the kids. Many years ago a well-intentioned lady gave me a book about "Donald goes to Israel." For her, Palestine was Israel, and she did not realize that Israel is not the name which Palestinians use for their country. But the book became one of Jara''s favorites after I changed the name of Israel into Palestine, the kibbutz into a Palestinian village, and Moshe into Musa....
A Victory for the Shia
By Patrick Cockburn, CounterPunch 1/31/2005
"What an extraordinary election, quite extraordinary," said Adnan Pachachi, the elder statesman of Iraq and a man not easily impressed after seeing his country convulsed by war and dictatorship for half a century.
It is a strange affair. Not since the war which overthrew Saddam Hussein had there been such a gap between the reality of politics in Iraq and the picture presented by the US and British governments. The poll yesterday was portrayed as if Washington and London had finally been able to reach their goal of delivering democracy to Iraqis. In fact the US postponed elections to a distant future after the invasion of 2003.
The overthrow of Saddam Hussein had been so swift that the American administration thought it could rule Iraq directly with little Iraqi involvement. But in the autumn of 2003 the US made two unpleasant discoveries: The guerrilla attacks in Sunni districts of Iraq were increasing by the day. They were supposedly confined to "the Sunni triangle", a description with a comfortingly limited ring to it, but in reality an area larger than Britain.
....The reason there was a poll yesterday was that the US, facing an increasingly intensive war against the five million Sunni, dared not provoke revolt by the 15 to 16 million Shia. The price the US paid was to have an election in which the Shia would show that they are a majority of Iraqis.
Audio: Panel discussion with Ali Abunimah and Norman Finkelstein in Chicago
Electronic Intifada 1/31/2005
EI co-founder Ali Abunimah and Norman Finkelstein, professor of Political Science at DePaul University in Chicago discuss and debate the latest developments in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. What is the significance of the election of Mahmoud Abbas and of Israel''s plan to "disengage" from Gaza? What are the latest developments on the ground in the occupied territories? Has the two-state solution failed and should we be seeking a single state as a way to fulfil the rights and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians? The discussion, moderated by Martha Reese, was recorded at a forum held at Oak Park River Forest High School on 30 January 2005, an event organized by the Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine.
Download the file (26.5 MB, Quicktime streaming audio, 2 hrs, 20 mins).
A property theft that must not be allowed
By Ze''ev Schiff, Ha''aretz 1/28/2005
The government''s decision from July 2004 to confiscate lands and infrastructures in East Jerusalem that belong to Palestinians who live in the West Bank is odd, to say the least. The decision makers behaved as though the War of Independence had just ended now, and not 55 years ago, and as though it were necessary to transfer the assets of fleeing Palestinian refugees to the guardian of absentees'' property for the State of Israel that had just been established and to build new settlements. The owners of the assets that have been confiscated are living, for various reasons, not far from East Jerusalem, in the West Bank, and not in Arab countries. This is also a strange decision because it did not appear as is customary in Reshumot, the government gazette, and until Meron Rapoport revealed the affair last week (Haaretz Magazine, January 21), it was concealed from the public. Precisely because the decision was kept secret, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz must be required to explain to the public the reasoning behind his agreement to the proposed legislation. Had he granted legal approval for the construction of more than 100 unauthorized outposts, he most definitely would have made his reasoning public.
The Territorial Dimension during the Occupation Period
By Abdulnasser Makky, Arabic Media Internet Network 1/27/2005
At the end of the British Mandate (in 1948), there were ten localities with municipal status within the area of the West Bank, including Jerusalem. The Jordanian administration changed the status of 16 villages to that of municipalities making 26 municipalities. These Jordanian decisions were directed by political considerations. Thus, Dahariya, with a population of 4,875 in 1967, was a village council whereas Bani Zaid, with a population of 2,165 in 1967, was a municipal council .
In 1967, at the beginning of the Israeli occupation era, the number of municipalities in the West Bank was 25 (the East Jerusalem municipality was abolished and annexed by West Jerusalem). In addition, 87 localities had the status of village councils. Only one municipality was established during the period of the Israeli occupation – Yatta. A municipal status did not necessarily indicate that the locality was larger than a large village.
The number of village councils grew during the period of occupation to 112. In the Gaza strip, the number of municipalities grew from two to four (with the establishment of the Rafah and Dier Al Balah municipalities), The Gaza strip also included seven village councils and five local units (Table 6.1.1).
The Territorial Dimension in the period of PNA
By Abdulnasser Makky, Arabic Media Internet Network 1/28/2005
The Ministry of Local Government was established on 25 May, 1994 upon the handing over of authority by the Israeli occupation. Needless to mention, the governing infrastructure was in a state of complete chaos. Therefore, the Ministry outlined an overall policy that focused on the following:
Establishing the concept of local governing and administrative decentralization in the Ministry, and the advancement of the institutions of local government in a manner that accommodates the national goals of building a Palestinian civil society based on democratic elections.
Raising the level of services in rural Palestinian areas in an effort to alleviate the existing discrepancies between the urban and rural areas.
Consolidate the autonomous capabilities of the local bodies.
Reviewing the conditions of the local bodies that existed prior to the establishment of the National Authority, in an effort to reach a perception of local government that was well adapted to the peculiarities of the Palestinian society.
In order to address the urgent needs on the ground of the Palestinian local society, which was subject to much suffering during the previous eras, and to develop the basic infrastructure to set up a well established local government system, the Ministry of Local Government put forward a new vision for a progressive local Palestinian government model: the establishment of a dual structure (Al-A''raj 1996)....
Iran approaches a flashpoint
By Kam Zarrabi, Asia Times 1/27/2005
As long as America remains militarily engaged in the Middle East, Israel will enjoy an unquestioned level of support on all fronts. This is exactly why striking at Iran''s nuclear facilities, although a militarily fruitless act, will be intended to provide added fuel for regional turmoil.
For what might my draft-age son be fighting? For whom will the bells toll this time?
Seymour Hersh''s article "The coming wars" in The New Yorker magazine should not have surprised anyone. Iran has been in the crosshairs, and remains there, ever since it was crowned as the biggest threat to international peace and security by the Bush administration soon after September 11, 2001.
President George W Bush, in his State of the Union address in January 2002, lumped Iran together with Iraq and North Korea as members of an "axis of evil", to be confronted in the United States'' "war on international terrorism".
The real enemy, or the source of threat against the security of the United States, was reconfirmed to be the al-Qaeda camp, headed by Osama bin Laden, masterminding its operations from Afghanistan''s mountain strongholds. However, the September 11 attacks provided an unexpected and highly welcomed opportunity for dormant power centers to come together and join forces with a common agenda. The target was broadened almost immediately to encompass the entire Middle East, and later Islam as a whole, called militant Islam, of course, for political correctness.
Third Temple culture
By Nadav Shragai, Ha''aretz 1/27/2005
The real story behind the 11th "Temple Feast" held on Monday did not take place on the festive stage or in the symposium that preceded the banquet. Nor was it the model ceremony in which the mincha sacrifice was prepared - a blend of loaves and crackers customarily sacrificed in the Temple - by Rabbi Yehuda Kroizer of Mitzpeh Yericho, in front of the gathered diners. Even the up-to-date models of the Temple and its environs, which were offered for sale in the corridors of the Jerusalem International Convention Center (Binyanei Hauma), or the speech on "World peace between the three religions" by Orly Benny Davis, the sponsor of the event, were of secondary importance compared to a single fact that hid between the pages of the pamphlet, "A Voice from the Heichal: The Temple Mount at the present time." (Heichal is the term for the central sanctuary that was in the Holy Temple of the Jews.)
The pages in question are a collection of letters exchanged by rabbis on the question of entry to the Temple Mount in our times. Among the many letters, which interpret the Halakhic (religious-legal) viewpoint on the issue, is a letter written by former minister Tzachi Hanegbi. Hanegbi reports that in the first 14 months since the Temple Mount was reopened, up to October 2004, some 70,000 Jews had visited the site, an average of 5,000 per month.
....Hanegbi, a former minister of internal security, wrote that these visits, which necessitate the presence of a permanent police force on the Mount, "are getting the Palestinians accustomed to accepting the deep connection of the Jewish people to the place where the Temple stood. This, of course, will bolster our claim to sovereignty over the Mount, in the event that practical negotiations are held in the future on a diplomatic settlement."
Separating `J''lem'' from the `West Bank
By Amira Hass, Ha''aretz 1/26/2005
The U.S. and Europe gave Israel good marks for easing travel through the checkpoints and allowing East Jerusalemites to vote on the Palestinians'' election day. Their respective spokesmen again are speaking of a window of opportunity that has opened with the election of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. So please, don''t bother us with the petty details of what is taking place on the ground meanwhile. Those countries have many representatives who reside here and are sufficiently involved with life in this area to experience the depth of changes Israel is creating in the occupied territories and the Palestinians'' natural social fabric. They know there is no real significance to one day''s partial relief at one or another checkpoint when the rest of the year the checkpoint system becomes only more sophisticated. They know that the "disengagement from Gaza" accompanying the deepening of Israeli control over the occupied West Bank is not "a step in the direction of peace."
They need to know that giving Palestinians the right to take part in an election process in the PA is nothing more than a symbolic gesture when in the same breath, a secret decision by Israel enables it to steal private property, within the area annexed by the country in 1967, from Palestinian West Bank residents, as Meron Rapoport exposed last week in Haaretz.
Suad Amiry’s Book on Life in Palestine under Occupation Exposes Israeli Crazy-Makers
By Genevieve Cora Fraser, Arabic Media Internet Network 1/22/2005
Suad Amiry is an amazing woman. I recently met her at the RIWAQ Headquarters where she co-directs the Palestinian Centre for Architectural Conservation. There she takes on the air of a military general, but instead of developing a campaign of destruction and exploitation; she painstakingly directs gathering architectural data on and photos of historic and current records of Palestinian homes, market places, cultural and religious sites and communities – some thousands of years old.
For Amiry, the enemy is not your typical urban blight but rather the 36 billion dollar, US funded, military might of Israel that audaciously demolishes homes, communities, antiquities and refugee camps as well as lives throughout Palestine. Israel is involved in a campaign against anything Arab (as opposed to Jewish) some sympathetic Israeli scholars explain. Amiry’s job is to document that heritage and restore it whenever possible, even though she cannot protect it.
Amiry’s personal life is also a daily battle under Israeli occupation. In her autobiographical, “Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries,” just released in English by Granta, London, Amiry’s comic-tragedy takes the reader on a dizzying journey through growing up as a member of the Palestinian Diaspora to her later commitment to the prison-like existence as a Palestinian professor, wife and activist living in Ramallah.
Israelis challenging Israel''s Militarization
By Martin Smedjeback, Palestine Chronicle 1/19/2005
""We are not only confronting the situation now, we are also confronting history; Israel hasn''t invented militarization, but we have been very good students..''"
In a deeply militarized society it is not easy to question what is seen as the lifeline for the Israeli State -- the military itself. Still there are an increasing number of Israelis who want another kind of society, a society which is not permeated by the military. "We are like mosquitoes that keep buzzing this message, because I know that there are a lot of people who think this way too," says Tal Haran, one of the members in New Profile.
It started with two groups of women who met and had discussions about the army, women, and militarism. They all had different backgrounds, but one thing connected them: they were all fed up with the deep militarization of their country. In 1998, they decided to form the first anti-militaristic organization in Israel. For someone who lives in a country without much war or conflict, this kind of organization might seem uncontroversial, but in Israel it is extremely radical. Tal explains: "Militarization has been presented as a lifeline -- a possibility for Israel to exist. The Holocaust was the ultimate proof that if Jews don''t arm themselves and become a nation with military might, it doesn''t look like the world will let us continue to exist, so we better do something about it."
Don''t call him a collaborator
By Nazir Majali, Ha''aretz 1/25/2005
The attempt to present Abu Mazen''s actions as an achievement resulting from Israeli pressure has negative, possibly destructive implications for the entire process. Abu Mazen is not an Israeli collaborator, and should not be seen as such.
Israel''s threats against Mahmoud Abbas seemed to have achieved their purpose. That''s certainly how it appears to Israel: It presented the three military options at its disposal - a limited operation, a broader operation or an overall operation, and the security cabinet approved in principle a plan to take over the areas in northern Gaza from where the Qassams are launched - if the Palestinian Authority chairman did not move quickly to end the shooting at the Israeli settlements. And then the new leader of the Palestinian people pulled himself together and did everything he could to satisfy Israel: He deployed police, threatened the various factions and ordered the police to stop any shooting at Israeli settlements, even if it means shooting. But the truth is there is no greater illusion.
Abu Mazen is known for his clear and decisive position not only against the Qassams but against any use of violence in the struggle against Israel. His position on the matter has been known since the start of the intifada, and he did not hesitate to express it in public. The position was not derived then - or now - from naivete but rather from a sober reading of the situation and an awareness that the armed struggle no longer serves the Palestinian interests and out of consideration toward the people of Israel - but irrespective of the actions of the Israeli government and its threats.
The Salvador option
By Scott Ritter, AlJazeera 1/25/2005
By any standard, the ongoing American occupation of Iraq is a disaster.
The highly vaunted US military machine, laurelled and praised for its historic march on Baghdad in March and April of 2003, today finds itself a broken force, on the defensive in a land that it may occupy in part, but does not control.
The all-out offensive to break the back of the resistance in Falluja has failed, leaving a city destroyed by American firepower, and still very much in the grips of the anti-American fighters.
The same is true of Mosul, Samarra, or any other location where the US military has undertaken "decisive" action against the fighters, only to find that, within days, the fighting has returned, stronger than ever.
And yet, it now appears as if the United States, in an effort to take the offensive against the fighters in Iraq, is prepared to compound its past mistakes in Iraq by embarking on a new course of action derived from some of the darkest, and most embarrassing moments of America''s modern history.
According to press accounts, the Pentagon is considering the organisation, training and equipping of so-called death squads, teams of Iraqi assassins who would be used to infiltrate and eliminate the leadership of the Iraqi resistance.
Changing of the presidential guard
By Arnon Regular, Ha''aretz 1/25/2005
"The main question of the average politician is whether to play his hand now or to accumulate power centers in the elections for parliament, by means of the Fatah or on a clan and regional basis, and to demand the payment afterwards, from the next prime ministers." The face of A., a member of the Palestinian presidential guard, which provided personal security for Yasser Arafat, adorned many of the photos from Arafat''s funeral. He accompanied the chairman''s coffin as it was taken off the Egyptian helicopters at the Muqata, and during the course of the tempestuous funeral, he apparently fired hundreds of bullets into the air in a demonstration that was afterwards described as being in "the spirit of Arafat." Last week, at a cafe in Ramallah, A. said that "everything has changed. To you it looks slow, but for us everything is changing rapidly."
He says some of the presidential guard personnel are already looking for new jobs - people who held senior positions, such as D. Yusuf Abdullah, one of Arafat''s closest associates who accompanied him to the hospital bed in Paris and is now on indefinite leave. He may be appointed as director of the Arafat museum, which will be built at the Muqata. And those who are staying put are already behaving in the spirit of the new chairman, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).
The Widening Gap Between Rhetoric and Reality in EU Policy Towards the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
By Nathalie Tocci, Miftah 1/24/2005
Abstract -- Over the decades, the EU’s declaratory diplomacy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict crystallised in its support for a two-state solution and the respect for human rights and international law. Yet a closer look at the EU’s relations with Israel and the Palestinian Authority highlights an increasing divergence between rhetorical goals and conduct in practice. This working paper shows how the nature of the EU’s credibility problem in the Middle East stems neither from inadequate instruments nor from its internal divisions. Rather, it derives from the manner in which the Union has chosen to deploy the instruments at its disposal. The paper then turns to possible ways ahead to achieve greater consistency and credibility in the EU’s role in the region.
Introduction -- The EU’s declaratory diplomacy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has evolved consistently since the early days of European Political Cooperation (EPC). Over time, it has crystallised into a well-defined position. On the one hand, the Union has supported the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to security and self-determination. On the other hand, it has clearly and repeatedly condemned all violations of human rights and international law, viewed as an impediment to a just peace in the region....
The Most Important Difference between the Palestinian and the Iraqi Elections
Editorial, Miftah 1/24/2005
Most Palestinians were not eligible to vote in the recent Palestinian elections, because they are absentees, in a wide sense of that word. In the end, less than one million Palestinians cast their ballots. Outside Iraq, on the other hand, a small minority of absentees are vigorously encouraged to vote. In this way, and in others, Palestinians are – unwittingly or not – portrayed as a negligible quantity. However, there are in fact nearly eight million Palestinians, including refugees according to the UN definition of that term. They are still a vast majority in and outside Historic Palestine compared to the five million Israeli Jews. But they remain, in the foreseeable future, a fragmented nation.
The Bush administration seems to have forgotten why it went to war in Iraq. Let us remind the reader: in order to rid the country of weapons of mass destruction, and to pre-empt the use of these weapons by the former Iraqi regime. However, it did not find any, and after over one and a half years of vain searching (following over a decade of UN-led searches) – as well as other ‘mistakes’, including a very high civilian death toll and torture scandals – the US government has now come up with a mainly ‘retroactive’ reason for going there: to bring democracy and freedom to Iraq. As Seymour Hersh recently pointed out (The Coming Wars: What the Pentagon Can Now Do in Secret, New Yorker, January 19, 2005), the members of the new Bush administration have been picked to a large extent because of two publicly stated main government policy objectives: to win the war on terrorism and to bring democracy to the Middle East, objectives that were not on the official agenda when the first Bush administration was formed.
Is the democracy pledge a desperate Plan B, or just an exit strategy for the US in Iraq? Time will tell. What can be said now with a fair degree of certainty is that the upcoming Iraqi election will continue being used to justify the war.
The Writing on the Wall: Maha Abu Dayyeh
By Toine van Teeffelen, Electronic Intifada 1/24/2005
MAHA ABU DAYYEH: "AS LONG AS THERE IS A SOCIETY THAT RESISTS THERE IS HOPE."
My office is close to my house—I just walk across the street. Now, the Wall ends just before the intersection of where I cross. When its construction is completed, I will have to drive all the way through Qalandia checkpoint, turn right around, and cross the check point again and go to Dahiet Al-Barid, before I can get to my office.
I live on the left the hand side of the street going from Jerusalem to Ramallah which is the Jerusalem side. However, all the services for my daily existence will be on the side that will be blocked off. Think about getting vegetables or food, or getting maintenance and household support. Half of all Jerusalemite Palestinians are going to suffer from this because electricians or maintenance people all live in areas that are blocked off. Because they will be harder to get, they will be more expensive. Life is going to become much more expensive, and not only monetarily.
We also will pay heavy social and emotional costs. We will become disconnected—literally and figuratively—from family and friends. Going to them in Ramallah or Beit Jala, places actually not very far from here, will be very difficult.
An Israeli Hawk Accepts the President''s Invitation
By Dana Milbank, Washington Post 1/23/2005
Those looking for clues about President Bush''s second-term policy for the Middle East might be interested to know that, nine days after his reelection victory, the president summoned to the White House an Israeli politician so hawkish that he has accused Ariel Sharon of being soft on the Palestinians.
Bush met for more than an hour on Nov. 11 with Natan Sharansky, the former Soviet dissident now known as a far-right member of the Israeli cabinet. Joined by Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr., incoming national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley and administration Mideast specialist Elliot Abrams, Bush told Sharansky that he was reading the Israeli''s new book, "The Case for Democracy," and wanted to know more. Sharansky, with co-author Ron Dermer, had a separate meeting with Condoleezza Rice, later chosen by Bush to be the next secretary of state.
Sharansky made waves this spring when he rallied with Jewish settlers to oppose the Likud prime minister''s plan for a unilateral pullout from Gaza -- a plan that Bush had endorsed. Sharansky, head of a Russian immigrant political party, said Sharon''s plan, though supported by a number of Likud hard-liners, would be "encouraging more terror." A figure who has previously railed against the "illusions of Oslo" and described that famous accord as "one-sided concessions," Sharansky resigned in 2000 from Ehud Barak''s government over the Labor prime minister''s plan to attend a peace summit in Washington.
An Israeli Fanatic Is ''Bush''s Brain
By Michael Collins Piper, Rense.com 1/22/2005
Supporters of Israel were delighted to learn that President George W. Bush''s recent call in his much-heralded inaugural address for worldwide democratic revolution was based on the philosophy of Israeli cabinet minister Anatoly "Natan" Sharansky. Although a recent popular documentary, Bush''s Brain, suggested that Karl Rove, the president''s political advisor, was the mastermind who tells the president what to think, it is now clear - based on solid evidence - that Sharansky is the one who actually has bragging rights to that title. Although he gained worldwide attention in the 1970s as a Soviet dissident and "human rights activist," Sharansky emigrated to Israel and soon emerged as one Israel''s most outspoken hard-line extremist leaders who damns even Israel''s heavy-handed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as being "too soft" on the Palestinian Christians and Muslims. The role of Sharansky in guiding Bush''s thinking is no "conspiracy theory." Instead, recent disclosures from the White House itself - published, although not prominently, in the mainstream media - demonstrate that not only did Sharansky personally consult with the president in drafting the now-controversial inaugural address, but that - in addition - at least two of Sharansky''s key neo-conservative American publicists, William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer, were among those brought in to compose Bush''s revolutionary proclamation.
Mass hypnosis in the Middle East
By Hasan Abu Nimah & Ali, Electronic Intifada 1/19/2005
The election that just took place in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip has been hailed as a great democratic achievement and breakthrough for the region. It is actually no more than a thin layer of light shaving foam which will soon be blown away by the strong winds of reality.
What explains the widespread readiness of various groups to lapse into hypnosis and euphoria about a non-existent "window of opportunity" for peace? Some parties have sought to assert their consistency by exaggerating this opportunity. Their enthusiasm about new Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas merely justifies their former insistence that the late Yasser Arafat had been the key obstacle to peace. Others are gullible victims of an ongoing propaganda campaign waged by Israel and its allies since the failed Camp David summit in July 2000 that the Israelis have been waiting only for the emergence of a "moderate" partner with whom to rush towards the desired peace.
Then there are those who adopt anything that holds promise for the Israeli line and embrace all developments that distract from Israel''s actions on the ground. There are people too who believe that any activity — no matter how futile — will save them the embarrassment of cowardly inaction and shameful silence and some servants of power who simply want to jump on the bandwagon in case accidental, effortless progress gives them the chance to gain prestige or profit.
Behind Israel''s official version of the news
By Anna Weekes, Electronic Intifada 1/20/2005
Two innocent Palestinians were killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on 12 January 2005. Although they were the latest in a long line of Palestinian victims, and from a tiny village near Ramallah, they made headlines all over the world.
They were the first Palestinians to be assassinated by the IOF since the election of Mahmoud Abbas, which had taken place just three days before. The so-called ''period of restraint'' had come to an abrupt end with the killings. For this reason, the assassinations were portrayed by the commercial media as a necessary response to two violent militants who had opened fire at Israeli soldiers.
However, eyewitnesses on the ground report an entirely different story.
Members of the International Womens'' Peace Service (IWPS) have lived on and off in Qarawat Bani Zeid since five children were assassinated there by the IOF in 2003. IWPS activists reported that they arrived in the village about 40 minutes away from their base, in response to urgent phone calls from residents, just in time to see the bodies of the two slain Palestinians being taken out of the house and into the ambulance.
What "Peace" Really Means to Israelis
By Avigail Abarbanel, Electronic Intifada 1/21/2005
Two months ago I returned from a two-week family visit to Israel. Although I am an activist for Palestinian rights, I decided that this visit would be entirely private. Living for two weeks with my brother, his wife and their two little girls in their tiny apartment in a North Tel-Aviv suburb, gave me an opportunity to observe and see what daily life is like for Israelis at the moment.
I did not do anything particularly noteworthy. I went for long walks in the streets of Tel-Aviv and visited many of the places that I knew from my past. I shopped at the local supermaket and had coffee at the nearby shopping mall. I watched local TV and even went to the gym. For two weeks I joined ordinary life in Tel-Aviv. Rather than talk, I did a lot of listening. I speak fluent Hebrew, of course, so it was easy to blend in and people spoke freely around me. Australian media likes to emphasise how hard life is for Israelis, and I wanted to see for myself.
The most obvious thing about Israeli society is how profoundly insecure Israelis feel. They are nervous and twitchy and live with extremely high levels of anxiety. Not that any of this was new to me but there did seem to be a new edge to it. When a bomb exploded in the Ha''carmel Market in central Tel-Aviv, I was at the gym. I looked around me and within moments everyone was on their mobile phones reporting to, or checking on their loved ones. A young woman right next to me in the weights area sighed to herself with anguish, "not again".
No rest for Nablus during Eid celebrations
By Ray Smith, Electronic Intifada 1/21/2005
Writing from Occupied Nablus -- Optimism for a period of peace following the elections has been misguided. In Nablus, Israeli military aggression continues as usual.
The army made a special effort for Eid celebrations. On 18 January, at 9pm, a large number of troops entered Nablus in unmarked vehicles and took up positions in the area. Soon after, a group of medics and internationals reached Old Najah Street near the Old City. More army also arrived, in about twenty military vehicles. If anyone approached the soldiers, the result was "access denied" at gunpoint.
As time passed, the real extent of the military operation became clearer: troops were operating in the Ras al-Ein area, in the area near the Ittihad hospital, around al-Ein camp and in the eastern and western parts of the Old City. In the course of the night, international volunteers worked with the medical teams and ambulances as best they could, however, all were more or less limited in their action and movement by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
US must act to stop ethnic cleansing in Palestine
By Priscilla Read, Electronic Intifada 1/21/2005
The average American finds unfathomable the desperation that drives suicide bombers. Yet Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is a recipe for producing violence. It robs Palestinians of their livelihood, their dignity, and their faith in the future.
U.S. acquiescence in Israeli policies that render Palestinians'' lives untenable in order to force them off their land makes a mockery of Washington''s pretense at being an honest broker in this conflict. Across the Arab and Muslim world, suffering in the Occupied Territories provokes bitter hostility.
Local groups such as the Rhode Island Qalqilya Alliance (www.RIQA.info) are trying to sound the alarm about gross violations of human rights being carried out with American connivance in Palestine and to arouse elected officials to re-think U.S. policy in the region.
The village of Jayyous in the Qalqilya district is a microcosm of Israeli policy in the West Bank. It occupies some of the most fertile land and sits atop one of the richest aquifers in the area. Productive and self-sufficient, the residents and their ancestors had tilled this soil for hundreds of years before Israeli settlers began to eye their fields.
The Romantic Abu Mazen
By Dr. Eyad El Sarraj, International Middle East Media Center 1/20/2005
People who know Javier Solana are impressed with his vitality and his ability to win friends through constructive dialogue. It was last week, when I met Mr. Solana, who infused optimism into the meting which was called by the Palestinian Council of Foreign Relations. It was a little strange to feel optimistic in that meeting, especially because we were in Gaza, the site of Israeli destruction and discussing the gasping Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
There are no doubts that there is some room for optimism. The election of Abu Mazen with 63 % of the vote is an Arab precedent to respect peoples minds and electing a man like him who is not untouchable by holiness or symbolism makes him one of us: accountable and not above the law. Indeed Abu Mazen started, even before his election, by dismantling one notorious militia “The Death Squad”, and declaring his courageous commitment to stopping all forms of violence and demilitarize the Intifada. He even ordered not to allow advertisements of congratulations and expression of loyalty in the local newspapers. Then he reopened the Beach Road in Gaza which was closed for nearly 10 years, by the presidential guard. I am sure that Abu Mazen will insist on not naming streets or schools after himself and to leave that kind of thing for history and for people. The optimism of Solana and ours does not decrease our anxiety or relief us from worrying about Sharon and his plans, Bush and his visions, money and reconstruction, armed militias and above all the rehabilitation of Fatah to become a democratic political movement where all its members, particularly the senior ones abide by the rule of law. Rehabilitation of Fatah is the opening for reconstruction of the Palestinian Authority. All this undoubtedly will bring many of personal and factional explosions within Fatah.
Who''s in charge here
By Amira Hass, Ha''aretz 1/19/2005
The Israeli intelligence officials and those who quote them in the press are right when they say that it''s not Abu Mazen and the Palestinian Authority security services who are in control in the Gaza Strip. The intelligence sources and those who quote them are misleading however, when they say that armed gangs and the Hamas run Gaza. The IDF runs Gaza. Not only according to international law, not only as far as the Oslo Accords are concerned by leaving the IDF as the supreme sovereign in all of Gaza and the West Bank, but rather in a concrete, spatial, physical manner. It controls Gaza through its fortified positions, which dominate densely populated residential areas; it controls Gaza with its airborne drones and their unceasing buzzing; the bulldozers that have not ceased demolishing, flattening, exposing, uprooting for the last four years; the helicopters that fire missiles; the military orders that turn roads and farmlands and half the coastline into areas "prohibited to Palestinians" so that any Palestinian using them ends up dead; orders that close all the passages into Gaza; the tanks that fire into civilian neighborhoods with Qassams, sorry, tank shells and other forms of munitions with a frequency that makes it impossible to count them, as opposed to the Palestinian Qassams, which fired one by one are counted one by one.
A mother and her son were killed on Sunday in a very routine affair, getting only a single line of mention in the Israeli press and immediately sinking into the depths of Israeli disinterest, where the information is buried among many hundreds of other cases of deaths of Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli soldiers in recent years in the war for the peace of the settlements....
Israel in the Iran fray, too
By Ehsan Ahrari, Asia Times 1/20/2005
Reporter Seymour Hersh''s allegations that the United States may be penetrating Iranian territory in search of credible evidence of its nuclear activities, or even with a view to bringing about regime change, have somewhat overshadowed Israeli perspectives.
In general, no discussion of Iran''s alleged nuclear weapons ambitions can be held without reference to what the government of Israel thinks. An important aspect of Tel Aviv''s approach is to keep on ringing alarm bells, so that the attention of the international community remains focused on the issue. At the same time, it has made a point of remaining engaged with American officials. The fact that nuclear non-proliferation is one of the top national security issues of the Bush administration makes Israel''s job on the latter point considerably easy.
Actually, Israel has nothing to worry about the possibility of this issue fading into oblivion, for two major reasons. First, speculation in and around Washington has never stopped circulating that the Bush administration has some sort of a plan about destabilizing, or even bringing about regime change, in Iran. What hasn''t been clear, however, is whether it would follow the Afghan model of a military campaign, or the Iraqi version of it. Considering the fact that the US military is innovative and prolific about coming up with sui generis campaigns for different military operations, chances are that if Washington indeed has plans for regime change in Iran, it might not follow either of the two preceding operations. That is why the recently published essay of Hersh about a potential US military action against Iran is read with considerable interest and attention worldwide.
Breaking the last Arab taboo
By Rami G. Khouri, Daily Star 1/19/2005
Intriguing signs from several Arab countries suggest that citizens and political activists alike may have started to breach the last "red line" of modern Arab governance - the control of political and economic systems by the many local security and military institutions. If, indeed, the military''s dominance of Arab societies is gradually to be assessed, challenged and reduced, this might one day open the way to bringing Arab security institutions under civilian oversight and control, through elected parliaments and independent judiciaries.
Late last year, disgruntled young Palestinian militants attacked police posts and briefly kidnapped a security official who was loyal to the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. In Lebanon, the opposition to Syrian dominance of the domestic political scene, and the Syrian-engineered three-year extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud''s term, has sparked a series of explicit, public criticisms of the Syrian intelligence service''s involvement in Lebanese domestic affairs. The latest occurred Monday, when former Prime Minister Salim Hoss called on Syrian and Lebanese security services to stop interfering in Lebanon''s public and political life.
In Cairo last month, a small demonstration of around 1,000 people publicly called on President Hosni Mubarak not to run for a fifth term, and asked that a genuine presidential election take place this year rather than the norm of a nearly farcical referendum on the single candidate nominated by the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). The demonstration reflects a deeper challenge to the prevailing control of the Egyptian political system by a combination of the armed forces and the NDP.
Departing head of UN refugee agency decries conditions in Gaza as horrendous
By Genevieve Cora Fraser, Electronic Intifada 1/18/2005
Peter Hansen, the Danish Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNWRA), who will be leaving his position in March according to reports in the Danish media, spoke out about the conditions in Gaza, Palestine at a recent conference sponsored by the Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace held in East Jerusalem.
According to Hansen, the situation in Gaza is so horrendous that without the help of bulldozers you couldn’t get through the debris and sand barriers thrown up to block traffic.
“If you wanted to go into Gaza today you wouldn’t be able to because there are tanks along all along the main road to Gaza. All along the road you will see houses that have been bulldozed. As you move down through Gaza the situation gets even worse,” Hansen stated. “As you approach the southern end of Gaza - where Kann Yunis and Rafah have seen continued destruction, where the numbers of people who have been made homeless by bulldozers exceeds 25,000 - we have managed to re-house 8,000 of them but we are fighting a losing battle. We can not build as fast as the destruction takes place. So, Gaza is in a very, very poor state. Everybody there hopes that this conflict can end so not only their suffering can end but the deprivation of a dignified human life after decades.”
.."..perhaps one of the worst damages that have been suffered by the Israeli people is the experience of going through the functions that are exercised by an occupation army...”
Odd Happenings in Fallujah
By Dahr Jamail, Electronic Iraq 1/18/2005
"The soldiers are doing strange things in Fallujah," said one of my contacts in Fallujah who just returned. He was in his city checking on his home and just returned to Baghdad this evening.
Speaking on condition of anonymity he continued, "In the center of the Julan Quarter they are removing entire homes which have not been bombed, meanwhile most of the homes that were bombed are left as they were. Why are they doing this?"
According to him, this was also done in the Nazal, Mualmeen, Jubail and Shuhada''a districts, and the military began to do this after Eid, which was after November 20th.
He told me he has watched the military use bulldozers to push the soil into piles and load it onto trucks to carry away. This was done in the Julan and Jimouriya quarters of the city, which is of course where the heaviest fighting occurred during the siege, as this was where resistance was the fiercest.
"At least two kilometers of soil were removed," he explained, "Exactly as they did at Baghdad Airport after the heavy battles there during the invasion and the Americans used their special weapons."
He explained that in certain areas where the military used "special munitions" 200 square meters of soil was being removed from each blast site.
In addition, many of his friends have told him that the military brought in water tanker trucks to power blast the streets, although he hadn''t seen this himself.
"They went around to every house and have shot the water tanks," he continued, "As if they are trying to hide the evidence of chemical weapons in the water, but they only did this in some areas, such as Julan and in the souk (market) there as well."....
The Coming Wars
By Seymour M. Hersh, New Yorker 1/17/2005
Ready for a Fight - The Pentagon''s plans for Iran—and for expanded covert activities
What the Pentagon can now do in secret -- George W. Bush’s reëlection was not his only victory last fall. The President and his national-security advisers have consolidated control over the military and intelligence communities’ strategic analyses and covert operations to a degree unmatched since the rise of the post-Second World War national-security state. Bush has an aggressive and ambitious agenda for using that control—against the mullahs in Iran and against targets in the ongoing war on terrorism—during his second term. The C.I.A. will continue to be downgraded, and the agency will increasingly serve, as one government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon put it, as “facilitators” of policy emanating from President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. This process is well under way.
Despite the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the Bush Administration has not reconsidered its basic long-range policy goal in the Middle East: the establishment of democracy throughout the region. Bush’s reëlection is regarded within the Administration as evidence of America’s support for his decision to go to war. It has reaffirmed the position of the neoconservatives in the Pentagon’s civilian leadership who advocated the invasion, including Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Douglas Feith, the Under-secretary for Policy. According to a former high-level intelligence official, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff shortly after the election and told them, in essence, that the naysayers had been heard and the American people did not accept their message. Rumsfeld added that America was committed to staying in Iraq and that there would be no second-guessing.
“This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone,” the former high-level intelligence official told me. “Next, we’re going to have the Iranian campaign. We’ve declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah—we’ve got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism.”
Politics & Policies: A major loss for the PLO
By Claude Salhani, Washington Times 1/13/2005
Atlanta, GA, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Preoccupied by the highly publicized Jan. 10 presidential elections in the Palestinian territories -- possibly the first truly democratic balloting in the Arab world - the closing of a little-known but highly efficient unit of the Palestinian Authority is passing without much notice. The Palestine Liberation Organization Legal Unit is being shut down.
The unit was created in 1998, when the PA Negotiations Affairs Department asked the British government for technical assistance in preparing for the Permanent Status talks between the PA and Israel under the terms of the 1993 Oslo accords. This led to the creation of the Negotiations Support Project, which was to provide advice on legal, policy and communication matters to the official PA negotiating team, led by Saeb Erakat.
With the outbreak of the intifada at the end of September, 2000, and the collapse of peace talks the following January, the legal unit eventually turned most of its focus to public affairs.
While the PLO Legal Unit is comprised of about 20 people, two North American-educated lawyers have stood out: Diana Buttu and Michael Tarazi.
Twighlight zone / The IDF is investigating
By Gideon Levy, Ha''aretz 1/14/2005
Four children, each of whom has lost two legs - halves of human beings - are now lying in Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Three of them are conscious; one is on a respirator. At home, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, their parents mourn their dead brothers. In a single moment on the first day of the Id al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) holiday, Maryam and Kamal Raban lost three sons, two nephews and a grandson. Another son is in intensive care after losing two legs, a hand and an eye, and is connected to a respirator. His father doesn''t know yet that both his son''s legs were amputated; he was only told about one. How much loss can a man absorb?
The lives of 12 children and teenagers, out playing early last Tuesday morning in the family strawberry plot, were cut short all of a sudden. Seven of them were killed, four will remain without limbs, severely disabled for the rest of their lives. That''s what one Israel Defense Forces shell can do. Not one child emerged whole from this lethal incident.
A senior IDF officer said after the accident that at least some of the casualties were "Hamas activists." Who? Rajikh, who is 11 years old? Issa,13? Bisaam, 14? Mahmoud, 14? Jabir, 15? Hanni, 16? Mohammed, 17, the eldest of the casualties?
Conjuring Tricks
By Azmi Bishara, Miftah/Arabic Media Internet Network 1/15/2005
Sharon may be prepared to negotiate, that is true. But far from accommodating the principles of each side, the negotiations he wants are certain to focus almost exclusively on the creation of a Palestinian state and the only margin of diplomatic maneuverability he will be willing to accept, even from the US, is that which will serve to persuade the Palestinians to accept the notion of a state and nothing more. There will be no question of addressing such fundamental Palestinian demands as the right of return while, once a Palestinian state is created, any outstanding border issues will be reduced to minor glitches that can be handled between the two "states" through peaceful means. All the US and the Europeans have to do is to convince the Palestinians that this is their only alternative and that once they accept the inevitable their state, created on 40 per cent of the West Bank and Gaza, will be transformed into heaven on earth. And if Sharon cannot get what he wants through an agreement he will repeat the unilateral disengagement ruse without an agreement, but, of course, only if the PA proves itself capable of handling security by monopolizing recourse to arms and unifying its security agencies.
The Tough Road Ahead for Abbas
Editorial, MIFTAH 1/15/2005
Mahmoud Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Mazen) was inaugurated today in Ramallah as the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), following a near-landslide victory in the elections last Sunday. Mahmoud Abbas received 62.32 per cent of the votes according to the official election results from the Central Election Commission (CEC). The tough journey for Abbas began when the results confirming his victory were made public, or along with the first Palestinian killed under his presidency. Numerous officials as well as world leaders have congratulated Abu Mazen on his victory, pledging support and generally looking forward to working with him. Time will have to tell if their support is genuine rather than cosmetic as it has been in the past.
Abbas’s main challenges can be split up into six main groups:
1. achieving a cease-fire between Palestinian militants and the Israeli army 2. dealing with the main power-broker in the region and the world: the US government 3. maintaining well-balanced relationships, internally as well as externally 4. easing living conditions for Palestinians under Israeli military occupation 5. fighting internal corruption and increasing transparency and accountability of the PNA. 6. negotiating a final peace settlement that is both just and fair for both Palestinians and Israelis
The Art of War
By Eóin Murray, Electronic Intifada 1/13/2005
[With extraodinary photographs] There is something about the art of war - not the methodology - but the art, that fascinates. People looking for a way of expressing the misery of warfare. It is, even if it deals directly with the topic of war, a way of escaping or, at the very least coping, with conflict. The real art of Gaza is on the streets, the art of resistance, the art of revolution and memory.
I have fond memories of a trip to Derry for my Dads birthday in which we stood by Free Derry corner and were amazed by the amazing power of the house murals which surrounded us. There was a real sense that these murals expressed the fears and memories of the people and, in so doing, assisted them in their struggle for human and civil rights, for peace and for justice. Last year, in April, peace activists and artists in Derry made some alterations to these famous murals as an expression of solidarity with the perpetual human rights abuses being committed by the Israeli forces.
The street art here in Gaza focuses primarily on the human element of loss. On every street corner, in almost every shop (sometimes because they want to, sometimes because of social and political pressure) there are photographs and paintings of the dead, mostly young men but also women and children - people who have been killed by the Israeli army.
Jerusalemites take to the polls, but not in scores
By Joharah Baker, Electronic Intifada/Palestine Report 1/13/2005
On the rear windshield of an old Peugeot, a sticker with the faces of Abu Mazen and late President Yasser Arafat gleamed in the Jerusalem sun. "Vote ... Abu Mazen for president" the sticker read.
For a myriad of reasons, not nearly as many people as could heeded the call in East Jerusalem. According to official statistics provided by the Central Elections Commission on January 10, only 26,365 out of 120,000 eligible voters in the occupied eastern sector of Jerusalem cast their votes for the next president of the Palestinian Authority on January 9.
No doubt, Israel''s omnipresence in a city Palestinians regard as the future capital of their state put a damper on the overall atmosphere. Just 20 kilometers and two Israeli checkpoints away in the West Bank city of Ramallah, flyers urging citizens to vote for this or that candidate scattered the streets and walls were plastered from top to bottom with smiling hopefuls. In Jerusalem, a few scrappy posters of presidential candidates were pasted sporadically throughout East Jerusalem - in some places they had been torn down by Israeli authorities and replaced by willful loyalists - but no Palestinian flag was to be seen or loud rally heard in the city streets.
No Peace in Palestine
By Charley Reese, Palestine Chronicle 1/13/2005
"Only the US can force the Israelis to make concessions so that a Palestinian state can be established. It refuses to do so. Hence, the war will go on.."
There will be no peace in Palestine. Don''t be fooled by statements of politicians and by the press''s careful avoidance of reporting the real facts of the situation.
The bulk of the Jewish settlements – around 200,000 people – are in the West Bank. The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has made it plain that he has no intention of: (1) removing these settlements; (2) returning East Jerusalem to Palestinian control; or (3) acknowledging the right of return or compensation of the Palestinian refugees. These are the three things that killed the last peace plan. It doesn''t matter who the Palestinian leader is – no Palestinian can surrender on those three points.
Sharon''s plan to "withdraw" from the Gaza Strip is just a ploy to postpone any serious peace negotiations. The small Jewish settlements in Gaza are just a pain to the Israelis. Not only do they have to be constantly guarded by the army, but the roads to them have to be guarded. Even if they are completely dismantled, Gaza will just become one giant concentration camp for Palestinians.
Trapped Like Mice
By Jamal Juma, ZNet 1/9/2005
Palestinians under the New Israeli "Disengagement Plan"
Palestine has been in the headlines of the Western mainstream media again. The preparations leading up to the elections on January 9 have given everyone enough news to cover—or rather: they have given the media enough news to cover up what is actually developing on the ground. But it is this current situation on the ground that will, if it is not stopped in time, more effectively shape the future for the Palestinian people than any electoral process ever could.
Away from international attention, the destiny being prepared for the Palestinian people is showing its true face more clearly than ever before in the new Israeli plans presented to the public in the past few months. The Apartheid Wall, with its horrendous effects on Palestinian life and land, does not stand alone, but is today merging with the longstanding Israeli settlement policy and the creation of Jewish-only infrastructure into a comprehensive scheme for colonial domination and conquest.
An appalling plan for Palestine is shaping up behind Israeli slogans of “disengagement”; behind the British initiative to revive “the Road Map”; and behind the U.S. drive to force through the completion of Israeli plans that finalize the Bantustanization of the Palestinian people. All three are combining to push for an end to all Palestinian resistance, which is seen as a pre-condition for controlling the Middle East from Jerusalem to Baghdad. The U.S. administration in particular is highly aware that any possible chance of success for the occupation of Iraq, and for U.S.-Israeli plans to shape the future of the Greater Middle East, depend on their ability to create “stability” for the Israeli colonial project of annexation, expulsion, and occupation in Palestine.
Democracy without freedom
By Erica Silverman, Al-Ahram Weekly on-line 1/13/2005
Palestinians negotiate a democratic election under occupation -- On Sunday Palestinians successfully conducted free and fair democratic elections under the constraints of Israeli military occupation, within the confines of 703 check points, and despite efforts by Israeli forces to impede the participation of East Jerusalem residents in the electoral process.
Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Yasser Arafat as chairman of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and the candidate of the mainstream Fatah Party received 62.3 per cent of the vote over his nearest rival independent candidate Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, a physician and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, who received 19.8 per cent of the vote.
Under the watchful eye of 940 international observers, a large number from the European Union and a smaller number from the National Democratic Institute based in Washington DC, and over a thousand media professionals, Israel eased the restrictions of the check points although undoubtedly the election was held under occupation.
Voting for hope
By Graham Usher, Al-Ahram Weekly on-line 1/13/2005
Fewer than expected Palestinians voted in the Palestinian presidential elections -- and those that did may be disappointed.
"We extend our hands to our neighbours. We are ready for peace -- peace based on justice. We hope that their response will be positive," said Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen, the day after his victory in the Palestinian Authority presidential elections. It was a sincere wish. But already the morning after felt colder than the night before.
Exit polls had proclaimed Abbas winning 70 per cent of the vote in a 70 per cent turn out, triggering motorcades of his Fatah movement taking to the streets of Ramallah amid fusillades of celebratory gunfire. In fact, Abbas won 62 per cent of vote in a turn out of 45 per cent, an abstention of the Islamist Hamas movement was swift to claim as a "victory" for its call to boycott the presidential poll.
Nor was Abbas''s stature enhanced by the behaviour of certain of his supporters, who fearing a low turn out and the Hamas claim pressured the Central Election Commission to extend the voting time by two hours and then brought in busloads of people to vote on the basis of their ID cards rather than the official electoral register. The fraud did not affect the outcome. But it did show just how reluctant Fatah is to give up its domination as the PA''s ruling party.
Mahmoud Abbas … the Moderate
By Dr. Elias Akleh, Arabic Media Internet Network 1/12/2005
After the death of Arafat the global terrorists (the American administration and its bastard child Israel) came up with a new maneuver claiming that there is now a new opportunity for peace if a “moderate” Palestinian leader would be elected, a leader who would end the Palestinian violence and understand the Israeli needs while engaging in a new round of peace negotiations. The American President Bush stated this optimism when he said “With Arafat’s death the international community could guarantee that there would be a Palestinian state in 2009.” He also claimed that resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict would be a top priority during his second administration. Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, claimed that 2005 would witness a historic breakthrough in Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians. These optimistic claims are built on the hope that Mahmoud Abbas would succeed Arafat in a well planned theatrical Palestinian election, which would give legitimacy to any future concession Abbas would grant Israel.
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) was one of the founders of Fatah, and for many years he was a very close aide to President Arafat. He was a key architect of the Oslo Accord that benefited only Israel and Fatah leaders on the expense of the Palestinian population: Israel benefited by transferring the difficult and expensive task of containing and policing the Palestinians from its army to the Palestinian authority, while Fatah leaders benefited by getting out of their isolation in Tunisia and entering the Palestinian area claiming big victory. The reality was that they entered Palestine to assert themselves as the sole leadership to the Palestinian cause, and to suppress any chance for a new competing leadership that might spring from the Palestinians within the occupied territory. They put an end to the first Intifada that devastated the unprepared Israel. For long years they disillusioned the Palestinians with barren peace negotiations, through which Israel enjoyed more security and opportunities to gobble more land and to annul UN resolutions through side-track conciliatory agreements granted by the Palestinian Authority.
The Election Labyrinth of East Jerusalem
By Molly Picon, Electronic Intifada 1/12/2005
Writing from occupied Jerusalem - January 9, 2005 — Many friends and family in the US have asked me whether or not I thought the Palestinian elections would be conducted in a free and fair manner. Today was an eye-opener with respect to the meaning of ‘free and fair’. Take a deep breath, dear reader, and I will take you through the many twists and turns taken by Palestinian residents of Jerusalem who were trying to vote in the Palestinian Authority elections.
Palestinians in Jerusalem: Palestinians who live in Jerusalem are not Israeli citizens. This means that although they are required to pay taxes to the Israeli government, they are not represented by the Israeli government. In addition, they also receive poor social services from the Israeli government. According to the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions, the Palestinians of East Jerusalem receive between 6 to 8 per cent of the social services in the municipality even though they pay one third of the taxes.
Voting rights for Palestinian residents of Jerusalem were enormously challenged in these elections. From the Israeli perspective, if all of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem were permitted to vote in Jerusalem, it would mean that the Palestinian Authority would be responsible for protecting their interests. If the Palestinian Authority were to have a significant number of constituents in East Jerusalem and these constituents were acknowledged as Palestinian by Israel, this would strengthen the Palestinian claim to East Jerusalem.
Trapped Like Mice
By Jamal Juma, ZNet 1/9/2005
Palestinians under the New Israeli "Disengagement Plan" -- Palestine has been in the headlines of the Western mainstream media again. The preparations leading up to the elections on January 9 have given everyone enough news to cover—or rather: they have given the media enough news to cover up what is actually developing on the ground. But it is this current situation on the ground that will, if it is not stopped in time, more effectively shape the future for the Palestinian people than any electoral process ever could.
Away from international attention, the destiny being prepared for the Palestinian people is showing its true face more clearly than ever before in the new Israeli plans presented to the public in the past few months. The Apartheid Wall, with its horrendous effects on Palestinian life and land, does not stand alone, but is today merging with the longstanding Israeli settlement policy and the creation of Jewish-only infrastructure into a comprehensive scheme for colonial domination and conquest.
An appalling plan for Palestine is shaping up behind Israeli slogans of “disengagement”; behind the British initiative to revive “the Road Map”; and behind the U.S. drive to force through the completion of Israeli plans that finalize the Bantustanization of the Palestinian people. All three are combining to push for an end to all Palestinian resistance, which is seen as a pre-condition for controlling the Middle East from Jerusalem to Baghdad. The U.S. administration in particular is highly aware that any possible chance of success for the occupation of Iraq, and for U.S.-Israeli plans to shape the future of the Greater Middle East, depend on their ability to create “stability” for the Israeli colonial project of annexation, expulsion, and occupation in Palestine.
A political abstention
By Amira Hass, Ha''aretz 1/12/2005
The Palestinian public is not suffering from the illusion about who really rules over its life. It is not Abu Mazen, or Fatah, but the Israeli government and its emissary, the army. At no point on election day was it possible to forget that. "Until five, six in the afternoon I felt proud and happy, and then everything changed," attorney Raji Sourani told the Palestinian Appeals Court judges, describing what thousands of people felt on the Palestinian election day. The initial impression of a strong turnout and diligent obedience of the rules and regulations was impressive. But in the afternoon, the festive feelings were replaced by concern. The turnout was lower than expected. The announcement by the election commission that it was extending voting hours was not surprising. "It was definitely possible to interpret it as concern for all, because of the checkpoints, the Israeli delays, the fears," Sourani said as he continued to describe the events to the three judges whose panel was formed especially for election affairs.
A Tale of Two Elections
By Gila Svirsky, Miftah 1/11/2005
Dear Friends, There seemed to have been two elections in Palestine on Sunday: the one conducted in the West Bank and Gaza, and the one in Jerusalem. Voting day in the West Bank and Gaza was marked in many places by a mood of ebullience and celebration. There was singing, dancing, the firing of guns into the air, families strolling together to the polling stations. Palestinian women’s organizations had spent weeks encouraging women to vote, and many women did show up for their first election, especially in urban centers. While not all checkpoints were eased and not all Palestinians wanted to vote under an occupation regime, the overall climate was one of hope and a new beginning. Voting day in Jerusalem, on the other hand, was marked by a flawed process. The Israeli government could not prevent Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents from participating in the elections, but it wanted to avoid the appearance of Jerusalem being part of the Palestinian Authority. Therefore, the authorities designed a voting system that was a pearl of Talmudical caginess, allowing for the vote, but giving it the appearance of an absentee ballot being cast in Jerusalem for sending to a Palestinian state that was “somewhere else”....
Tough call
By Serene Mulham, Al-Ahram Weekly on-line 1/11/2005
As Palestinians aspire for a better life, many invest their hopes in Abu Mazen. Many others feel he would shatter their cause. -- With the polls weighing overwhelmingly in favour of Fatah candidate Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the end of the Palestinian presidential race is fast approaching. So far, according to opinion polls, it appears that Abu Mazen -- who on Tuesday morning referred to Israel as "the Zionist enemy" in response to the killing of at least seven people, including six children, in Gaza -- will sweep 60 to 65 per cent of the votes cast. Mustafa Barghouti lags far behind with predictions at 20 to 25 per cent. Ramallah''s city centre is filled with posters, the majority of which form part of the two leading candidates'' election campaigns. There are also signs all over the town urging citizens to cast their ballots, put up by the Palestinian Authority''s (PA) Central Elections Committee (CEC). Meanwhile, a general media campaign is being broadcast on the PA''s television channel, including advertisements running the slogan "Palestine has an appointment" and interviews with members of the general public in Jerusalem in which they affirm their intention to vote. In Ramallah, the desire to run Palestinian politics in as democratic a way as possible is also being voiced. "As a Palestinian citizen I have a responsibility to vote. Despite the difficulties which we face, we still have a democracy, and I am proud of that," a young worker, Amin, told Al-Ahram Weekly. Similarly, taxi driver Basil said: "Compare our situation with that faced by many other Arab countries, where it is illegal for opposition parties to even run. No, here in Palestine, we are democratic."
Time for the EU to Flex Its Muscle! Now!
Editorial, Miftah 1/11/2005
As a member of the Mideast Quartet, and as an organization admirably respectful of human rights, the European Union is neglecting some of its commitment to actively contribute to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. True, the EU has so far been actively ignored by the Israelis and the USA in this regard, but after a series of recent geopolitical changes, such as the EU expansion last year, the weakening of the US economy, the USA’s increasing troubles with its war on Iraq, and now the democratic and diplomatic credentials of a new Palestinian Authority leadership, it is time for the EU to wake up and use its influential powers more constructively. This is not just a moral appeal, it is to a large extent also a long-neglected legal responsibility, a responsibility that has largely been forgotten due to successful Israeli and US attempts to bury the rule of international law along with respect for basic human rights, especially with regard to Palestinian rights. Yet, both land theft and ethnic segregation, especially, are ongoing, and, at least in that respect, things continue to get worse on the ground. In today’s main story on the Palestinian Authority presidential elections in the independent Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz (“Bush says Abbas welcome at White House”), the positive reactions of heads of state such as G.W. Bush, Hosni Mubarak, and Vladimir Putin, heads of government such as Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroeder, and a host of foreign ministers and heads of intergovernmental institutions, such as Javier Solana, Amr Moussa, and Jose Manuel Barroso are reported.
Challenging the ethics of divestment
By Carol Sansour Dabdoub, Daily Star 1/12/2005
In recent months the debate over investing in Israel has become a focal point for church related organizations and groups. While many reject the idea of investing in businesses that help the Israeli occupying forces in their efforts to further oppress and control the Palestinians, few are able to undertake steps to help in stopping such injustices. To decide to take the higher moral ground usually demands a high price. When the Presbyterian Church courageously decided to divest in Israel, it was confronted with crude accusations and attacks from different groups, mainly Zionist and occupation-supporter groups. Even though the Presbyterian Church is holding steadfastly to its general assembly''s vote of July to "initiate the process of phased, selective divestment from corporations contributing to the Israeli government''s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza," recurring assaults on the church provide shaky grounds for its constituencies and open prospects to review choices which could lead to a change in stance. ....Those who divest must be urged to take a proactive role to help revive life for the people who are suffering at the hands of investments in the Israeli occupation. It is a responsibility not only to cleanse oneself of occupation-supporting investments, but also to engage in the process of building viable and sustainable livelihoods for Palestinians.
Elections under fire
By Graham Usher, Al-Ahram Weekly on-line 1/6/2005
A week ago Ariel Sharon promised the world that Israel will "make possible a free, fair and effective Palestinian election". So much for that -- Bobbing on the shoulders of Zakaria Zubeidi, Palestinian Authority president-in-waiting, Mahmoud Abbas, kicked off his campaign amid a packed, sceptical, armed and dangerous Jenin refugee camp. The irony was thick as the gunfire that greeted them. Abbas''s signature contribution to the Palestinian Intifada has been to denounce its "militarisation", not least in places like Jenin where militias have long replaced police forces as the embodiment of his "one authority, one weapon" injunction: Zubeidi''s has been to emerge as one of the most prominent leaders of Fatah''s West Bank Al-Aqsa militia, having survived four failed Israeli assassination attempts and the killing of his mother, brother and other comrades in arms in a score of more "successful" ones. But times and the men change. Zubeidi and his men have become a vital political cog for Abbas as all wheel gingerly into the post-Yasser Arafat era. In return the young fighters seek amnesty from the Israelis and (in the not so distant future) "a role in the next Palestinian leadership, where I will continue to fight for the Palestinians", hopes Zubeidi. But they also represent one of the many ties that will bind Abbas''s leadership. "Let us be clear," said Zubeidi in Jenin. "I do not support the political path of Abu Mazen (Abbas). I support him, because I support the Fatah candidate. But if Abu Mazen starts to mess with our unalterable positions -- with Jerusalem, the right of return, a Palestinian state, the release of prisoners -- we will not recognise his leadership."
The EU and Middle East Peace
By Victor Kattan, CounterPunch 1/8/2005
It Must Do More Than Issue Statements -- Palestinian elections will take place on 9 January. EU monitors observing the election process have seen Israel''s wall, that in the words of John Dugard, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, "constitutes de facto annexation of Palestinian territory by forcible means." Six months ago on 9 July, the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the UN, held that Israel''s wall, and its associated régime of permits and closed military zones, are contrary to international law. Whilst journalists have rightly picked up on this point, many have overlooked paragraph 159, which sets out in clear and unequivocal terms the legal obligations of the international community. These include the duties of non-recognition, non-assistance, preventing the wall from impeding the Palestinians'' right to self-determination, and ensuring Israel''s compliance with international humanitarian law. Whilst sceptics have pointed out that an advisory opinion is not binding per se, the legal obligations stipulated in that paragraph are. The EU, as an international organisation made up of its constituent states, has a responsibility, in the same way as states do, to abide by the ICJ''s opinion. The EU is set up by treaties which are governed by international law. The European Court of Justice has held that customary international law is binding upon the EU. At least two of the obligations set out in the ICJ''s opinion are of a customary character. All 25 members of the EU voted in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution which demanded that Israel comply with its legal obligations as identified in the advisory opinion.
"Democracy" under Occupation
By Donna Mulhearn, Electronic Intifada 1/11/2005
Writing from Nablus, occupied Palestine -- Perhaps you saw images of flag-waving youth in Ramallah. Or maybe you heard the optimistic words of George W Bush and other world leaders about new opportunities for peace. Yet from where I was sitting in the West Bank city of Nablus, one thing was clear: voting for a president in a state that does not actually exist will not change much in the lives of the people here. It is clear how much the Palestinians want peace and good government, but after hearing the glowing, yet often patronising, cliches about ''Arab democracy'' that have been bandied about in the media recently, the fact remains that Palestine can never experience true democracy while it remains under occupation. Sunday''s vote is an example of that. It was a relatively smooth election for the politically aware Palestinian population. The only problems stemmed from unwelcome Israeli interference: military roadblocks hindered people in getting to polling booths and in East Jerusalem Israeli officials did not allow many registered voters to actually cast a vote. Despite the upbeat rhetoric from the outside world, Palestinians understand the reality that newly elected Mahmoud Abbas will not be able to deliver miracles: the real power for peace still lies with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his number one supporter, US president George W Bush.
Palestine elections short on democracy
By Sam Bahour and Todd, Asia Times 1/10/2005
During the 1970s, the apartheid government of South Africa sought to bolster its claims to legitimacy by allowing elections in the Bantustans - the equivalent to today''s walled-in Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The thought was that if people elected local officials, even to hold largely ceremonial offices, then the rest of the world would stop whining about how undemocratic and illegal apartheid was. There were two problems with this strategy. First, the world understood that ceremonial elections do not make a democracy. Second, the major candidate in any election who would be endorsed by black South Africans - Nelson Mandela - was being held in a South African prison. Instead, black South Africans were being offered collaborator candidates who were chosen by the white South African government. Through its policy of "constructive engagement", however, the Ronald Reagan administration tacitly endorsed this strategy, even when the United States Congress resisted by passing the Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986.
Disappointment at low voter turnout in PA elections
By Amira Hass, Ha''aretz 1/10/2005
When it was reported yesterday, at around 5 P.M., that the Palestinian Central Elections Committee would keep the polls open another two hours, until 9 P.M., people in the Jabalya refugee camp knew the official reason given (Israeli delays of voting in Jerusalem) is not the main one. Neighbors of the camp''s girls'' school, where polling stations opened for those who hadn''t registered in September on the voter rolls, couldn''t help noticing in the course of the day that voter traffic was extremely light. Taxis and pick-up trucks - mostly belonging to Fatah people, a handful to other candidates - that drove voters, mostly female, from home to the school, didn''t do much to improve matters. At 7 P.M., a worker at this voting station conceded, only 10 percent of the precinct''s registered voters had turned out. This should have been no surprise: the Central Elections Committee also didn''t expect all of the people who failed to register in September to take advantage of the newly granted opportunity to vote based only on their identity card and its matching the population registry. But the problem was at the stations where voting took place according to the voter rolls - that is, people who registered in September but didn''t come to vote yesterday. With disappointment mounting, political activists and observers from Palestinian NGOs concluded that voter turnout was lower than expected.
The devastation of Iraq
By Dahr Jamail, Asia Times 1/11/2005
The devastation of Iraq? Where do I start? After working seven of the past 12 months in Iraq, I''m still overwhelmed by even the thought of trying to describe this. The illegal war and occupation of Iraq was waged for three reasons, according to the administration of US President George W Bush. First for weapons of mass destruction, which have yet to be found. Second, because the regime of Saddam Hussein had links to al-Qaeda, which Bush has personally admitted have never been proved. The third reason - embedded in the very name of the invasion, Operation Iraqi Freedom - was to liberate the Iraqi people. So Iraq is now a liberated country. I''ve been in liberated Baghdad and environs on and off for 12 months, including being inside Fallujah during the April siege and having warning shots fired over my head more than once by soldiers. I''ve traveled in the south, in the north, and extensively around central Iraq. What I saw in the first months of 2004, however, when it was easier for a foreign reporter to travel the country, offered a powerful - even predictive - taste of the horrors to come in the rest of the year (and undoubtedly in 2005 as well). It''s worth returning to the now-forgotten first half of last year and remembering just how terrible things were for Iraqis even relatively early in our occupation of their country.
Where is the bride?
By Laurie King-Irani, Electronic Intifada 1/10/2005
Turned out in his best formal suit, a neatly folded kuffiya carefully draped over his shoulders, Mahmoud Abbas smiles with confidence and anticipation as he is carried aloft by celebrants and supporters on this festive day. Just looking at him, you can tell he probably even smells nice, anointed with the fragrance of victory. The elections were a foregone conclusion, the polling a compulsory ritual, to legitimate what everyone already knew: Abbas was the one and only. The hubbub of voters attending this successful rite of passage yesterday was reminiscent of a Palestinian wedding. Abbas, though nearing 70, is a presentable groom: calm, handsome, closely shaved. He has never appeared in public in military fatigues while carrying a gun. He understands his role and plays it respectably; he''s level-headed, calculating, and realistic. Abbas is not an idealist, nor is he given to passions. His business-like demeanor spells "dependability," and clearly pleases the Israeli and US governments. But they are not the bride, nor even the parents of the bride. So just who is being courted and betrothed here? Where, indeed, is the bride?
Democracy Now!: EI discusses Palestinian election results (with audio link)
Electronic Intifada 1/10/2005
Listen to Segment -- AMY GOODMAN: Good to have you us with. Your response to the presidential election. ALI ABUNIMAH: Well, the reports that I have been hear, and I was talking to people in Palestine all day, and Gaza and the West Bank, is that there were significant irregularities in many, many areas. The impression, I think, many Palestinians have is that the media, the US government, the herd of international monitors who went over there to certify the victory decided in advance that the election had to be treated as good news, and they''re not interested in what actually is happening to Palestinians both in the context of the election and the much bigger context of the continued Israeli assault.
Media grossly exaggerate Palestinian voter turnout
By Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada 1/10/2005
How many Palestinians in the occupied territories actually voted in the 9 January election for president of the Palestinian Authority? Reports from several major news organizations are misleadingly stating or giving the impression that nearly 70 percent of potential Palestinian voters in the occupied territories voted. In fact, the number is well below 50 percent. According to CNN.com: "Election officials reported about 65 percent turnout among the 1.8 million voters. Earlier they had reported about 35 percent and extended the voting by two hours." (Abbas declared victor in Palestinian election, CNN.com, 10 January 2004) Los Angeles Times reporter James Gerstenzang wrote in an article on that newspaper''s website: Few serious problems were reported in the voting, as voters braved a wintry chill to take part in the first election for Palestinian Authority president since 1996. The Central Election Commission said turnout was at least 70%. Some commentators had said Abbas would need a turnout of two-thirds of the 1.8 million eligible voters to claim a broad mandate. ("Bush: Abbas Welcome at White House," Los Angeles Times website, 10 January 2005) And, in an official statement, President Bush declared "I am heartened by today''s strong turnout in the Palestinian elections." But official figures released by the Central Elections Commission - Palestine (CEC) tell a very different story and demonstrate that major news organizations reporting such figures are failing to check facts and seem to lack a grasp of basic mathematics.
The election buzz
By Arjan El Fassed, Electronic Intifada 1/5/2005
We should have known that Gaza would be closed. However, someone told us that the border might be open and that we would be able to pass. Together with a colleague, who is also an accredited elections observer, we left the West Bank this morning to go to Gaza. Yesterday, Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians, most of the same family, when they fired a tank shell into an agricultural area in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The tank shell killed three brothers, Bisam (13), Mahmoud (14) and Hani (16), three cousins, Rajigh (10), Jabir (12) and Mohammad (22) and their neighbour Jabril. Eight others were wounded. At the time of the shelling, they were working in greenhouses. At the time we left, two were in serious condition. When we arrived near Erez checkpoint, still some two to three hundred meters away from the parking place at the enormous terminal dividing Israel from the Gaza Strip, we were stopped by Israeli soldiers and police. "It might take two hours, or ten," the police officer said. "They just tell us to stop everyone, until they finish [sic] their job."
Palestinian Elections – Charting the Palestinian Future
By Haithem El-Zabri, Arabic Media Internet Network 1/5/2005
Presidential elections in occupied Palestine are just 5 days away, and the two main contenders – Mahmoud Abbas and Mustafa Barghouthi – are worlds apart in what they bring to the Palestinian cause. Below is a comparative overview of their backgrounds and positions on the issues, and how the international community is responding. Mahmoud Abbas: Also known as Abu Mazen, Abbas is a founding member of Fateh, and for many years has been a very close aide to Yasser Arafat. Abbas was a key architect of the Oslo Accords, which benefited Israel and the Palestinian leadership, at the expense of the Palestinian people. Israel benefited by having the task of policing the Palestinians transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) - an authority who''s power is only what the Israeli state will allow it to be. The Tunis-based Palestine Liberation Organization benefited by keeping its hold on leadership over the Palestinian people; the first intifada, being led from within the occupied territories, presented a threat that new activists would lead the Palestinian struggle. In their desperate cling to power, Arafat and his cronies made whatever compromises were necessary in order to reach some kind of agreement with Israel, and presented this to their people as a victory.... ...Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi: In second place, according to the polls, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi offers a refreshing and needed change from the PA’s corruption and self-serving policies. A physician by profession, Dr. Barghouthi is the founder of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), which has provided medical care and aid to 495 Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps. PMRS volunteers have distributed food, water, and emergency first aid services to more than 1.3 million Palestinians - this alone is more than the Palestinian Authority has ever done for the Palestinian people.
On the Narrow Shoulders of Abu Mazen
By Roni Ben Efrat, Electronic Intifada/Challenge 1/5/2005
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